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Six years ago, in Haditha, Iraq, in the wake of a deadly insurgent attack on their convoy, a Marine quick reaction force raided several houses from which they were taking fire. At the conclusion of the action it became clear that a number of Iraqi civilians had been killed, which was duly reported up the Marine Corps chain of command. The command determined that while the deaths were unfortunate, the engaged Marines had not violated the laws of war. Then, early in 2006, a reporter from Time Magazine got wind of the incident, and all hell broke loose. An...

April 20, 2012 SECNAV Boots Two Sergeants for Lying At Haditha Court-Martial Neal Puckett Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has ordered administrative separation processing of two squad members who testified against SSgt Wuterich in January and admitted lying to NCIS and on the stand about the November 2005 shooting deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha.  During the January 2012 court-martial of the squad leader, SSgt Wuterich, Sgt’s Humberto M. Mendoza and Sanick P. Dela Cruz testified on the stand that they lied to NCIS during the investigation, the Article 32 investigations and withheld information.  Their motivation to do so was...

The Cloud of Haditha Lifted Haytham Faraj and Neal A. Puckett January 25, 2012 The last Marine charged in the deaths of 24 Iraqi’s in Haditha on November 19, 2005, begins his new life today. SSgt Frank Wuterich has finally been exonerated of all murder and manslaughter charges after prosecutors failed to produce any credible evidence of those crimes. He took responsibility for his tactical decisions, all of which were based on his Marine Corps training. He told the court he is saddened by the outcome of combat action that morning but that he did the best he could under...

Camp Pendleton, Calif. – The long, lonely journey of Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich ended today when military judge LtCol David Jones sentenced the father of three to 90 days confinement and reduction in grade to Private (E-1), the lowest rank in the Marine Corps. However, the convening authority Lieutenant General Thomas D. Waldhauser had stipulated that Wuterich will not be confined so the incarceration order was immediately vacated. Wuterich will be reduced in rank in 14 days unless Waldhauser – the convening authority – overrules the judge’s sentence and restores Wuterich to his current rank or some other...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: – January 24, 2012, 3:50PM, Camp Pendleton CA Puckett and Faraj Press Statement on Sentence of SSgt Wuterich We wish to first acknowledge the tragic loss of civilian life in Haditha on November 19, 2005, and express our condolences to the families who lost loved ones that day. The military justice system has fairly dealt with SSgt Wuterich’s case by delivering a measure of justice. Today, SSgt Wuterich stands vindicated by the very system that has held him captive for over 6 years. This case began with sadness for the loss of life and ended with rage...

Camp Pendleton, Calif. – The General Court Martial of US Marine Corps SSgt Frank D. Wuterich ended Monday morning after a plea deal was reached over the weekend. In return for a guilty plea to one count of Negligent Dereliction of Duty, the six-year ordeal of the 31-year old father of three is finally over. Negligent dereliction is a lesser included offense detailed in Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Dereliction of Duty. Before the agreement, SSgt Wuterich was charged with “Willful Dereliction of Duty,” a much more severe offense. In return for his plea, 13 charges,...

Today, the plea deal was reached. SSgt Wuterich’s defense team at Puckett Faraj says this afternoon: Press Release, Aexandria VA January 23, 2012/12:45PM: “No one denies that the consequences of November 19, 2005 were tragic, least of all SSgt Frank Wuterich. But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For six years, he’s had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption. He has always publicly taken responsibility for the lawful actions of his...

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) -- A Marine accused of killing unarmed Iraqi women and children pleaded guilty Monday to dereliction of duty in a deal that will mean a maximum of three months confinement and end the largest and longest-running criminal case against U.S. troops to emerge from the Iraq War. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., led the Marine squad in 2005 that killed 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha after a roadside bomb exploded near a Marine convoy, killing one Marine and wounding two others. It was a stunning and muted end to a case ....

Motel 6, Oceanside, Calif. -- The second week of testimony ended Friday afternoon at the court-martial of SSgt Frank D. Wuterich. So far the government has not proved he unlawfully killed anyone, much less how, where, or when. What has been firmly established is that Wuterich is a great Marine infantryman greatly admired both by his squad and his superiors. The former squad leader is charged with killing an unspecified number of civilians in Iraq in 2005, assaulting others, and being derelict in his duties. Defend Our Marines didn’t report the story Friday night because the whole day of testimony...

SSgt Wuterich Tells His Story in Court Today Neal Puckett and Haytham Faraj January 20, 2012 Scott Pelley of CBS 60 Minutes, asked just as direct and hard-hitting questions as any government prosecutor in a 2006 interview of SSgt Wuterich. Today in court the prosecution played nearly 3 hours of outtakes where Pelley attempted to get Wuterich to admit his Marines went on a rampage in Haditha Iraq. The prosecution team hoped to show that Wuterich admitted to shooting 5 military aged men and made irresponsible decisions to declare a house hostile and then prove he did it without clear...

Camp Pendleton, Calif. -- The decision is in. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich is back on trial this morning to face charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and dereliction of duty for his role in the deaths of 14 Iraqi civilians who died at Haditha, Iraq in late 2005. If convicted he could face the rest of his life in prison. The 31-year-old father of three young girls was on the verge of submitting a request for administrative separation from the Marine Corps when he suddenly changed his mind. Compelled by the certainty of his own innocence and...

Camp Pendleton, Calif. -- Defend Our Marines has learned there is a deal on the table inside a Camp Pendleton courtroom where SSgt Frank D Wuterich now balances choices that will determine the rest of life. The 31-year-old father of three can bite the proverbial bullet and ask for administrative separation, or he can dig in his heels and fight for the principles he has already proved he is willing to die for. Another option, considered less likely but more compelling, is a “Directed Verdict,” in which the judge tells the government it hasn’t made its case in all or...

Discussions were apparently under way Wednesday that could end the ongoing manslaughter trial of Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich for his role in the deaths of two dozen Iraqi civilians in 2005. With government witnesses waiting to testify, the military judge overseeing the proceedings at Camp Pendleton announced Wednesday afternoon that the trial was on hold while prosecutors and Wuterich's attorneys "explore options" and "go ahead with negotiations." The judge, Lt. Col. David Jones, also informed the two sides that he was available for consultation if needed. The sudden disruption in the trial is a strong signal that an agreement...

Haditha: Where Are They (the Accusers) Now? Diana West January 18, 2012 Eight charged; seven cleared; one, please, let’s hope, to go.Finally, the last “Haditha” trial is in progress, and, thanks to Nat Helms at Defend Our Marines, everything you need or want to know about the proceedings, the witnesses, the facts about the case of SSGT Frank D. Wuterich, the last of the Marine Mohicans, is here. Tim McGirk, source of the Haditha myth-acre. Of course, I still have a few questions — the exact same questions I had when I first looked at the case back in late...

Camp Pendleton, Calif. – Retired U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Major Edward T. Sax landed several heavy blows on the government’s battered and bruised case against Haditha defendant SSgt Frank D. Wuterich Tuesday afternoon. “Wuterich was a great Marine,” he told the eight member panel of officers and senior non-commissioned officers intently watching the exchange between Sax and defense attorney Haytham Faraj. Sax, considered by both the officers and man of the Thundering Third to be a Marine’s Marine, told the panel of officers and senior non-commissioned officers that Wuterich’s decimated squad did it right when they blasted through two civilian...

Week one ‘Haditha’ Marine trial analysis Part II: the counter-attack upon houses 1 and 2 Tim Sumner January 17, 2012 United States Marine Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich stands accused of 9 counts of voluntary manslaughter, 2 counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, 3 counts of dereliction of duty, and “responsible for the deaths of 19 civilians” in Haditha, Iraq. The trial is expected to take four weeks. The prosecution began its case last Monday. If you have not, please first read Part I. Part II completes my analysis of the trial to date and includes key testimony that the...

Week one ‘Haditha’ Marine trial analysis Part I: An ambush on Route Chestnut and the white carTim SumnerJanuary 16, 2012United States Marine Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich stands accused of 9 counts of voluntary manslaughter, 2 counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, 3 counts of dereliction of duty, and “responsible for the deaths of 19 civilians” in Haditha, Iraq. The trial is expected to take four weeks. The prosecution began its case last Monday. What follows is key testimony that the media has failed to report and my analysis of the trial to date. The ambiguous Rules of Engagement card...

Camp Pendleton, Calif. – The General Court Martial of U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich became a certainty on November 20, 2005, one day after his squad lost one Marine and killed 24 Iraqis before passing the score of their bloody encounter up the chain of command. At first glance the events at an obscure place called Haditha, Iraq seemed routine enough. If noticed at all, the blossoming debacle was just another soul-numbing calamity among the hundreds of random tragedies unfolding across the shattering region every week during the second year of the war. The day after the...

Platoon commander defends Marine on trial in deaths of 24 Iraqis January 14, 2012 | 10:45 amThe platoon commander on the day in 2005 when Marines killed 24 unarmed Iraqis was called as a prosecution witness Friday in the court martial of the squad leader, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich.But the testimony of William Kallop seemed to bolster the case of the defense, not the prosecution in the closely watched trial at Camp Pendleton.Wuterich and his squad did nothing wrong, Kallop testified....Snip..... The court martial, in which Wuterich faces charges of manslaughter, assault and dereliction of duty, resumes Tuesday with more...

Camp Pendleton, Calif. – A former lieutenant, the first Marine officer to testify at the General Court Martial of Staff Sergeant Frank D. Wuterich, took the witness Friday morning and used it to forcefully dispute the Marine Corps’ contention that his former squad leader had committed war crimes.Wuterich is accused of leading a counter-attack by four Marines that led to the accidental deaths of Iraqi civilians at Haditha, Iraq more than six years ago. Kallop was his platoon commander and the officer who ordered Wuterich to “clear South” before the Marines stormed two houses which they believed were the source...